Is it time for the banks to get rid of cash?

COMPUTER hackers, spam, nuisance phone calls, bank branch closures, cheques being phased out, credit cards stolen and accounts emptied, and now we have the threat of a cashless society. How are the generation born before the computer age meant to cope? Progress is a necessity, but thought should be given to the full implications before making such a big decision as getting rid of cash.

S. NiGHTiNGALE, Bolton. ROSS CLARK claims killing off cash is a cynical bid to make fatcat bankers fatter (Mail). He takes no account of the work and cost incurred by banks to provide us with cash. They have to waste staff’s time collecting and storing coins and notes ready for it to be passed out again, only for us to give it back to them. Reducing the time bank staff have to deal with cash would allow them to provide us with more services and could enable banks to give us a better return on our savings. Just imagine the expense incurred on strong rooms and security to deal with cash, which in itself is of no use to banks. G. D. MORRiS, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan.

IF WE become a cashless society, there is a problem paying with contactless card or other devices using radiofrequency or near-field communication. My local shop refuses to accept contactless as payment for purchases under £5, claiming that economically it’s not worth it. Unless I have cash, I won’t be able to buy my daily newspaper.

Ian BARRATT, Maldon, Essex. When we are all using cards after cash has been abolished, how long will it be before all transactions carry a surcharge? On a related subject, there was no manned till available in my local Sainsbury’s so I asked for one to be opened. It was suggested I used the automated tills. I declined, saying I preferred to deal with a human being and that automation is costing jobs. The assistant replied breezily: ‘Oh no, they don’t. We just don’t re-employ when someone retires.’

JANET COLE, Swindon, Wilts.